cherryclass

I'm wondering if anyone can help me with a solution to this problem. My mother died earlier this year in the UK, and my father moved into a care home. He is 88 and not at all well so we know that time is probably short before we will have concerns with inheritance.
I have lived in the USA for 14 years and have long since given up my UK bank accounts. My dad wants to give me 10000 ukp as a living gift, but the exchange rate is so terrible right now that it seems like a waste to take it back to the states. British banks wont allow me to open an account as I have no address there.
I believe I might still have a post office national savings account and possibly a building society account but if I leave money there will I be able to access it from the states?
Has anyone found a good solution to leaving money in sterling accessible from the USA?
Ginny

Pulaski

You should be able to open an offshore account with Lloyds Bank in the Isle of Man. There may however be a monthly account fee.

I have heard that Union Bank in California may offer US sterling accounts, but this is a very recent innovation as it wasn't legal for US banks to offer foreign currency accounts in the US until 3-4 years ago. ..... Hence the number of US banks operating in the Cayman Islands offering foreign currency accounts to US residents.

Any account outside the US containing more than $10k at any point during the year will be subject to FBAR reporting.

cherryclass

Thank you, that gives me somewhere to start...

cherryclass

Lloyds Isle of man first said no because i wasn't immedietly depositing over 25K and then when I said I would be later , still denied me because of regulations in USA... ugh!
I can't find any banks that hold sterling deposits in US yet either....

Pulaski

That's weird, Robin1234 opened an account with them when he was still a US resident. Maybe he will come along and might be able to share more insight.

MidAtlantic

I have no direct experience, but this may give you some options:

Offshore bank accounts - Compare the best offshore bank accounts with moneyfacts.co.uk

cherryclass

think I have found a solution. Everbank in Florida offers a foreign currency account that I can access with a debit card and only need 2.5K to open. Let's see if this works!

robin1234

I did, but that was back in 2007 and their rules might now be more restrictive. I was a U.S. resident and opened a sterling account with them with a zero opening balance, on the understanding that I'd fund the account in two or three months. All I needed to open the account was proof of identity and proof of residential address (notarised copy of passport, and original copy of a bank statement and a utility bill - something like that.) it's been a good account experience and I'm still using it, even though I'm now in England. It pays no interest.

Wintersong

Is there any particular reason to be thinking about doing this now? If you don't need the money, maybe you're best off just leaving it with Dad and hoping the exchange rate improves.

The only real reason to do this now (aside from needing the cash) would be if his estate is valued at more than £325K AND you expect him to live for at least another 3 years.

Pulaski

If he dies, unless he is explicitly trustee for the funds*, or adds a clause to his will, then the money would be part of his estate and potential could be passed in part or whole to other inheritors.

Having your father open an account in the UK and depositing the money, and documented as the money being held in trust, would be a possible solution. This could arguably be FBARable as an "interest in an account".

cherryclass

things to do seem to be way more restrictive now... almost impossible for me to do anything on the UK side, but Everbank is looking like it might work out... we shall see

celticgrid

Rules are definitely more restrictive. While our Isle of Man accounts were opened while living there, and the bank is happy to keep them active, things have tightened up considerably. While they used to accept new accounts from US residents until, I think, about 2012, they will not now even entertain accounts from US residents. I suspect other banks have taken similar moves because they always hunt in packs!

Pulaski

I see that Everbank acquired its "World Markets" foreign currency accounts division through several mergers, but it started out in 1986, so I am fairly certain that the foreign currency accounts will actually be "parked" off-shore somewhere, but I can at the moment see where that would be - per my earlier post above, I would guess the Cayman Islands. This may, or may not, be a concern for you.

Wintersong

Fair point!

kodokan

Does an elderly person in a care home have to be careful with gifts, so as not to come under the rules about intentionally depriving oneself of assets? Depends, of course, if he's comfortably self-funding or not.